North Carolina Governor’s Decision May Aid Obama Bid

Bev Perdue, a Democrat who barely grabbed the governorship of North Carolina three years ago and never gained widespread popularity, said on Thursday that she would not run for re-election this fall.

The abrupt announcement, which one staff member said took the office by surprise, comes as the Democrats prepare for their presidential nominating convention in Charlotte in September.

For political analysts, the timing suggests an effort to shore up President Obama’s bid for re-election by allowing him to distance himself from an unpopular governor in a state that was central to his election in 2008.

“Certainly, one has to think the Democratic Party has welcomed the news,” said John Dinan, a professor of political science at Wake Forest University. “How much of a drag she was going to be is debatable, but she wasn’t going to help.”

“We live in highly partisan times, where some people seem more worried about scoring political points than working together to address the real challenges our state faces,” she said. Citing her recent battles over school financing with the Republican-controlled legislature, Ms. Perdue said that “a re-election campaign in this already divisive environment will make it more difficult to find any bipartisan solutions.”

Ms. Perdue became the first woman to run the state after a hard-fought battle in 2008 with Pat McCrory, a Republican and a former mayor of Charlotte, who is running for the seat again. Her victory was attributed in part to the fight that Mr. Obama staged in the state. He became the first Democratic candidate to win North Carolina in 32 years.

Like governors in many states, Ms. Perdue had to cope with a decline in the economy and, in her last years in office, a legislature controlled by the opposing party.

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With re-election money slow to come in and staff members facing ethical violations, Ms. Perdue knew she faced a difficult road.

In November, three of her former campaign aides were indicted on felony charges of obstruction of justice tied to how they were paid. One received a fine and probation. The other two have not entered pleas.

She has also faced criticism for suggesting a two-year postponement of Congressional elections and for her proposal to pay for education with a sales tax increase.

With the primary looming in May, state Democrats began discussing who might be a stronger contender in a state where an important chapter in the presidential race will be written. Suggestions included Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, the former White House aide Erskine B. Bowles and Mayor Anthony Foxx of Charlotte.

Also, Representative Brad Miller, a five-term Democrat, said Thursday that he would not seek re-election, to avoid a primary battle against another politician in the state. That immediately raised hope among Mr. Miller’s supporters that he might run for governor.

Although a majority of residents stayed lukewarm about Ms. Perdue, her status as the first woman to govern the state was often noted with respect, Professor Dinan said.

An article on Friday about an announcement by Bev Perdue, governor of North Carolina, that she will not seek re-election misstated the time that elapsed between wins by Democratic presidential candidates in her state. President Obama’s victory in 2008 marked the first time in 32 years — not 36 — that a Democrat carried the state. (Jimmy Carter had been the last to do so, in 1976.)

A version of this article appears in print on January 27, 2012, on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: North Carolina Governor’s Decision May Aid Obama Bid. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe